NEWS & EVENTS (BenOrtiz.com)

Faculty at Harold Washington College drafted the following document. Faculty at Truman and other City Colleges are drafting similar declarations that will be posted here upon release.

A Declaration of No Confidence in City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Wayne D. Watson

On Behalf of the Fulltime Faculty of the City Colleges of Chicago

Respectfully Submitted to the Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago by the Faculty Council of the City Colleges of Chicago (FCCCC)

As the chief executive officer of the City Colleges of Chicago, the Chancellor is accountable to a large constituency: the students, for whom he must ensure a quality affordable education; the employees, for whom he must maintain a productive and welcoming working environment; the families and friends of these students and employees, for whom he must uphold a proud and respectable institutional image; and the citizenry at large, for whom he must guarantee economic and communal stewardship of the institution with the utmost of transparency and integrity.

The behavior recently exhibited by the present Chancellor, Wayne D. Watson, compromises all the aforementioned obligations and clearly indicates he is not up to the challenges required of his position. His divisive tactics have resulted in irresponsible—and possibly irreversible—harm to employee morale, undermined his ability to effectively lead this District, and ultimately compromised his professional integrity.

As evidence, we provide a short list of the charges against him.

City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Wayne D. Watson has:

1. Weakened student trust and confidence in the City Colleges of Chicago and his office by aggressively pursuing and encouraging a policy of retribution against the student body at all seven campuses.

2. Tarnished the reputation of the City Colleges of Chicago by forcing a labor dispute at a time when labor issues were hardly as severe as those of the memorable past.

3. Diluted our most valuable pool of adjunct faculty, consisting of over 150 professors emeriti, by prohibiting these highly skilled and vastly experienced professors from future employment with City Colleges of Chicago.

4. Misled the general public during the labor action by claiming 70% of classes were running normally while lying to the media by claiming negotiations centered about load and by pretending that the Union, rather than the Board, cut off talks and/or refused more meetings.

5. Failed to fulfill the obligation of his office by refusing to personally negotiate labor disputes, thereby squandering district funds on, and relegating his own obligation to arguably disinterested parties.

6. Needlessly placed subordinates and their families at risk by canceling their health insurance.

For all these reasons it is therefore right and fitting that the fulltime Faculty of Harold Washington College do hereby formally document and submit this Declaration of No Confidence in the present Chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, Wayne D. Watson, and do further petition the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Illinois Community College District 508, as well as the Mayor of the great City of Chicago, to remove and seek suitable replacement of said Chancellor for this heretofore fine and respectable academic institution.

Posted by Benjamin at January 20, 2005 11:48 AM